Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Tying the Knot



Yesterday, after a lovely morning playing with Cordelia and visiting with her parents, we decided it was time to Tie the Knot!  

You see, one of the things Mike and I really enjoy is to float the local river.  Because I was too sick last summer, we never got a a chance to do it at all.  So far this summer we've held back because the river was flooded and not so very safe.  Some years we've actually had to stand up and carry our inner tubes because we were dragging bottom!  Not this year!  But it is below flood stage now so off we went!





Somewhere along the way we bought a 2 person raft, thinking we would upgrade from the inner tubes.  I'm not sure what 2 people would be comfortable in this raft, though.  It is pretty small and crowded.  We've improvised.  Mike floats in the raft and I float in the innertube.  However, we tie them together (get it, tie the knot?) so we stay close.  I think it probably looks pretty funny.  It also makes paddling a bit of a challenge as one oblong rafter tied to one inner tuber makes for a situation of being unequally yoked together... I know, I know, I'm just so very funny.



 
We sometimes go in circles but that just adds to the fun!

Yesterday we chose to go out of town a ways and float in for a couple hours.  We passed one row boat with fishermen in it right away but after that we had the river to ourselves until we were landing.  We ate our lunch, carefully gathering our garbage so as not to spoil the environment.   We chatted. 



We listened to birds singing.  In bursts we'd paddle like crazy to avoid hitting a log or smashing into bushes along the edge, but mostly it was relaxing and beautiful.



When we came to our landing spot we found quite a few people getting ready to launch.  They looked at us kind of funny I thought.  One was putting in his jet ski and others were putting in rafts big enough for 10 people to ride comfortably, cup holders and all.  
 
Well, we may have looked odd but we had a lovely afternoon.

Monday, August 08, 2011

Monday Joy

Monday is Mike's day off... in theory anyway.
He often gets called to do something for someone but now and then he gets the whole day off.


This morning we picked up a fast food breakfast and went to eat at a little park, taking Bode along.

After our breakfast, we went over to Maria and Eric and Cordelia's house.  I am ever so grateful to be living in the same town as our only grandchild.  She brings us such joy! 


She hugs and hugs and tells us she loves us over and over again.  She entertains us.

This is a picture from our morning...


Our hearts are full!



Sunday, August 07, 2011

God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending



God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending

God, whose giving knows no ending,
From your rich and endless store:
Nature's wonder, Jesus' wisdom,
Costly cross, grave's shattered door,
Gifted by you, we turn to you,
Off'ring up ourselves in praise;
Thankful song shall rise forever,
Gracious donor of our days.

Text: Robert L. Edwards, b. 1915

Saturday, August 06, 2011

Things That Grew


So, here is Sam now. 

The tree on his left is the little apple tree is the little apple tree he planted 6 or 7 years ago. The tree on his right is a Quaking Aspen planted the same day.  Sam is 6'3" tall now.  It's just fun to see how he has grown.

Now, please hop on over to  
as Maria has posted the winner!

Friday, August 05, 2011

Things that Grow

This is a picture of Sam planting a little treein 2004 or 2005.


Tomorrow, I will show you that tree and Sam now.

Also, we will be drawing today for a winner for our earring give-away.

Watch for the announcement tomorrow!
 

Thursday, August 04, 2011

It Could Be Worse

Remember how hard I've been working, ripping up carpet and pads?  I've also been removing a LOT of staples.  


Additionally, I feel like we've moved at least 3 times this week.  One day we moved everything out of 2 bedrooms, most of it going into the dining area.


The day after that the carpet guy, Dan, gave me a day to return those rooms to something near normal, and to clear out (remove carpet, pad, etc.) the living room.  So, all the living room things went into the dining area for the day while he carpeted the living room, hallway and stairs.  Afterward we got the living room put back together.
I thought it was looking nice.





Dan was supposed to return today (Thu) to finish up the master bedroom but Tuesday afternoon he called and said he could come a day early.  Yay!  Wait?  I wasn't ready!  Thankfully, Sam was home and helped me move the king size bed, dressers, etc. and shove them into the previously carpeted bedrooms.  So much for those rooms looking nice!  We ripped up carpet, pad... you know the way it goes now.  Oh yes, after that I painted the KILZ on any stains that could be from a pet.

I was sooooo happy Tuesday night as most of my work was done and we were ready for Dan to come and finish the job.  Whoopee!  I was ready to get the house back in order.  I showered and got ready for bed, feeling jubilant.  Just before I went to bed I noticed something odd at one spot on the top stairway carpet...



Yes, that is a spot with no fibers.
Instantly, I thought of Bode and his chewing but upon inspection, that didn't seem to be the deal.  Even the fibers around that spot seemed loose.  Then, I went around to other rooms and tested the carpet fibers.  I tugged on individual fibers, finding that some stayed put but some just pulled right out.  They came out as easily as pulling small weeds from moist, heavily mulched earth.  I can't remember that I've ever tried to "pluck" a carpet but I was pretty sure that I shouldn't be able to do so.





Well, I'd like to say I felt calm and cool about this but I DID NOT! 
I am glad to tell you that Mike did remain calm and tenderly reminded me that, although this was not good, in the big picture of life our troubles could be much worse.

The next morning, when Dan came expecting to finish up the project, we showed him our find.  Because the carpet is a frieze (shag with a twist) it was easy to miss the gap until the fibers were moved aside a bit.  Dan agreed that this was not acceptable or normal.  We paid him for the work he'd done, as well as for the day's work he'd planned to do for us.  He'll be back but it may be awhile.

When I spoke with the owner of the store where we purchased the carpet, she was horrified.  She treated me with great respect and came out herself to test the fibers, take pictures and cut some of the left-over carpet to ship back to the manufacturer.  It looks like something went wrong with their gluing process.  Hopefully, they will quickly see the problem and send new carpet.  I'm expecting they will also pay for Dan to rip out this carpet (I really don't want to do that again just now!) and lay the replacement carpet.

So, that was a bummer, but eventually it should be made right.

Now, we wait.







Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Lord's Prayer Knick-Knacks

I believe this is my oldest possession.

It was a gift for me as a new baby.  Although it doesn't all show in this photo, my name and date of birth were written in gold script at the bottom.


When my husband, Mike, went back to college and then seminary in the 80's we either gave away or stored most of our possessions.  We knew that we'd be making several moves and would sometimes be living in very small apartments so that just seemed the right thing to do.  This Bible figurine with the Lord's Prayer, however, was one of the very few items I kept with me through move after move. 



It and a couple of other knick-knacks were on one little 3-tiered shelf hanging on the wall above our table.  At that time, one of our children was about a year old so I'd put this up there to be safe.  That may have been a mistake.



Ben, I mean one of our children who will remain nameless, was quite a climber, even at age one.  One day he got on the table and pulled down the entire shelf.  Don't worry, he wasn't injured.  I think everything else was broken but I didn't care so much about the other items, I guess, because I no longer even remember what they were.  But this treasure, I glued back together.  I think it just gives it character, don't you?  It tells more of a story now than it did before.

One day when Maria and I were hunting for vintage treasures for our Wyoming Rose Boutique, we found this lovely piece. 



I am sure you see the resemblance.  Can you imagine how excited I was?

I expect it is from the 50's as well, making it an antique rather than just a vintage item.  I hesitate to call it an antique, though, since that would mean I was an antique as well!

It shows that lovely crackled appearance that comes with age.
So do I.


...but it is in great shape!  It has a pretty little bird on it...


...and just the sweetest little flowers.


I don't know the history about this piece.  I can only speculate as to who's shelf it has been on over the years, or who's shelf it will be on in the coming years.

What treasures have you retained from childhood?




Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Yarn Sculpture

Maria and I have become yarn sculptors.

What?  You've never heard of that?

Well, people can make sculptures out of everything else so why not yarn?

We are really letting loose with our creative sides and are making up these hats as we crochet.  Both of us get bored quite quickly when following a pattern.  We prefer to "wing it".  Sometimes that doesn't turn out so great for us but I am thinking we are onto something now.  This is another one of the little hats we've sculpted.


At least it is working out better than when I "wing it" with my cooking.
That doesn't usually go as well for me.

I'm interested in what you do for a creative outlet...knit, sew, paint, cook, bake?


Monday, August 01, 2011

In Case You Were Wondering

In case you were wondering...


...red duct tape...




...is pretty much unchanged by the digestive process.
      



 

You can thank me for not taking a picture of that!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Psalm 18:1-2


I love you,
O Lord my strength,
O Lord my stronghold,
my crag, and my haven.

My God, my rock
in whom I put my trust,
my shield,
the horn of my salvation,
anjd my refuge:

You are worthy of praise.

Psalm 18:1-2

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A Wonderful Kind of Mess!




The news at our house is, EVERYTHING IS A MESS!

I'm very happy about it!

What?

We're getting new carpet, at least upstairs.  The basement will have its day but not yet.  I decided that since I don't have a regular job right now, I could do the carpet rip-out.  I must be using some rather dormant muscles because I wake up SORE!

  It's hard work but rather satisfying.



To make it more manageable, I cut the carpet into strips.  Then, I just pull and pull until I have a piece off.  I roll it up and put it in a big garbage bag, then, I start  pulling up the padding.  It doesn't pull up smoothly so I always have to go back and pick off the broken pieces of it.  I learned to do that part quickly as Bode, it turns out, believes carpet padding is yummy.



Next, I got a little stool and sat down with a pair of pliers and hand-picked the staples out.  There are tack-strips around the edges of everything but I'm leaving those in place for the attachment of the new carpet.   It is a bit risky as those tack strips have little nails pointing upward.  It's really best to NOT step on them.  Trust me, you know when you've done that!



The man who is laying our new carpet heard that I was plucking staples by hand and kindly offered a scraper tool for me to use.  I declined.  In fact, he offered it several times and I continued to decline, stating it wasn't that hard to pluck out the staples.  One day, he just couldn't stand it anymore and brought the tool over to me.  What do you know?  It is a job that now takes just a few minutes. You slide it across the floor and it pops out most of the staples.  Those that don't pop out are sheered off.  Either way, all I have to do is sweep them up!



Next, I'm painting KILZ over any spot on the floor that looks like it may have a pet stain on it.  If you ever need to use KILZ, you need to know there are several kinds of it.  If you are dealing with pet stains, don't wimp out and choose the water-based KILZ.  I did that in our basement and learned that it just doesn't do a good job.  This time, I chose the oil-based KILZ and it works well.  However, good ventilation is a MUST.  It has a very, very strong odor that lingers.  I opened all windows and it still took a full day to remove the odor after I'd just painted the floor in 2 rooms.

Our carpet-layer-guy has already completed those 2 rooms.  He is working us in between other jobs so Monday he will return to do a bit more and then later next week come back to finish the job.  The biggest mess is simply that I have to pile everything from the rooms being carpeted into the dining area.  The Rose Room has been the worst.  This is the room where I have miles of fabric and skeins and skeins of yarn, not to mention oodles of containers with our jewelry-making supplies.  It is my favorite room, but all those things made for quite a mess in our dining area!


 I don't mind; I'm just so excited to have new carpet!





Reminder:

Wyoming Rose is doing a give-away! 

Simply leave a comment at our store blog:



Next Friday we will place the names of all commenters in a hat and draw for the winner!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Jewelry in the Sun

Another thing I enjoy is making jewelry.

It is another addiction, much like crocheting.

Recently, I had a chance to share my addiction with two of my friends.   We were out on a deck at the beautiful home of one of them and we just enjoyed being together.  It was really a pleasant morning.

They made some lovely pieces for themselves.




I made a couple of pairs of earrings, one for Wyoming Rose Boutique...



...and one for a GIVEAWAY!


Entering is NOT complicated. 

Simply leave a comment at our store blog:



In one week we will place the names of all commenters in a hat and draw for the winner!












Thursday, July 28, 2011

Vacation for a Day... Installment #3

OK... let's wind this thing up, shall we?  I've saved the most interesting part for last...


Thermopolis, WY
Home of the World's Largest Mineral Hot Springs!

There are hot springs popping up all over the place, flowing down to the river.  Some places smell pretty strong of sulphur (think rotten eggs) so all your senses get involved.









We left Thermopolis and went through the Wind River Canyon, through some tunnels, and out near Boysen Lake.  The beauty just came coming at us!



And when I wasn't driving, I crocheted as we rolled along....


It was a day to remember!

Thanks for patiently letting me document such a lovely day!

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